A transfer is the single most tightly controlled action in Metrc, because it's the moment a package legally changes hands. Get the manifest wrong and you've got a truck full of product that technically isn't allowed to move.
Only One License Type Drives
Packages can only be transported between licensees by a licensed Distributor. The one exception is a Testing Laboratory, which can transport test samples for official state testing. Both are required to log actual departure and arrival times in Metrc in real time, not estimates entered after the fact.
A transfer has to be created any time a package moves from one licensee to another, even if both facilities sit on the same property. Physical proximity doesn't exempt you from the manifest requirement. If it's a different license number, it's a transfer.
The Transfer Types That Matter
| Transfer Type | Usage |
|---|---|
| Transfer | Standard type, used for most movement |
| Return | Sending a defective manufactured product back to the licensee that originated it |
| Wholesale Manifest | Non-donated product going to a Retailer; requires the wholesale price of every package recorded at transfer time |
| State Authorized | Only with prior state approval; actively monitored for misuse |
Building the Manifest
A manifest needs a destination, a transfer type, a planned route, and a schedule with estimated departure and arrival times. If there's a stop along the way, a layover checkbox opens fields for that leg too. You'll assign a transporter, either the Distributor or the Testing Lab handling the shipment, along with driver and vehicle information.
A single transfer can carry up to 200 packages, added individually or uploaded in bulk through a CSV or TXT file capped at the same 200-package limit. Once the manifest is registered, save a digital copy for your records and print a physical one for the driver before the vehicle leaves. If there's ever a question about what's in a transfer or whether it's accurate, reject it rather than guess. That's not a suggestion, it's the standard Metrc's own guidance sets for ambiguity.
Modifying and Voiding
A transfer can be edited or voided right up until the Distributor or Testing Lab marks it as departed. Once departure is recorded, the only edits left belong to the transporter: updating estimated arrival, or correcting driver and vehicle details. Adjusting the actual contents of a transfer after departure isn't possible directly, if a package needs correcting, it has to be removed from the transfer, adjusted, and added back in before the transfer proceeds.
Voiding is limited to the originating business, and it's permanent. A voided transfer can't be reinstated, and every package on it returns to the originator's inventory as if the transfer never happened.
Receiving Is All or Nothing, Per Package
The system will not let you receive part of a package. What it does let you do is act individually across a shipment: accept some packages, reject others, and adjust the recorded quantity on any package where what arrived doesn't match what Metrc says was shipped. Receiving that discrepancy silently isn't an option, either the number gets corrected or the package gets rejected.
| Rejection Reason | When It Applies |
|---|---|
| Damage | Damage to the plant or package |
| Data Entry Error | Package can't be accepted due to a data entry error when the manifest was created |
| Incorrect Item | Manifest was created with the wrong item |
| Incorrect Quantity | Package wasn't correctly weighed or counted. Not for sales corrections |
| Non-Compliant Label | Package contains a non-compliant label |
| Spoilage | Deterioration of packaged product |
| Theft | Product stolen in transit; the licensing authority must be notified |
A rejected package doesn't disappear, it lands on the Rejected tab back at the originating facility, where that licensee has to arrange return transport and formally receive the package back into their own inventory before it's resolved.
Templates for Routes You Run Often
If you're transferring to the same destination on a recurring basis with the same route, transporter, driver, and vehicle, a transfer template saves you from rebuilding the manifest every time. Use pre-populates a new transfer from the template, Copy duplicates it as a starting point for a variation, and Discontinue retires a template that's no longer accurate.
The Transfers Hub
Distributors and Testing Labs manage the actual mechanics of a shipment from the Transfers Hub: accepting a manifest before departure, then recording actual departure, any layover check-in and check-out, and arrival, all in real time as the shipment happens. Once the Arrive button is selected at the destination, editing closes entirely. The manifest becomes a permanent record at that point, not a draft.